| Competition Congratulations to Percy Feketey whose caption (below) has been voted the funniest and has won the Friday competition. Watch out for another contest at the end of the week. 
"Friends, Romans, Plebs, Lend me your Ears"
The Markets Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, warned that the Eurozone's biggest economy may suffer a contraction in its final quarter, having seen growth slow in the first two quarters, from 0.5% in the first to 0.3% in the second. This is ominous news for struggling Eurozone countries, such as Greece and Portugal, which have relied on bailout funds, largely supplied by the Teutonic powerhouse. Back home, the National Housing Federation claimed that a lack of new affordable homes has resulted in the number of workers claiming housing benefits since May 2009 to rise by 86% to 0.9 million, as they face climbing rent rates. At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 10.10 points at 13,333.41 and the Nasdaq was up by 7.89 points at 2,686.21. In London the FTSE 100 fell by 13.24 points to 5,882.91; the FTSE 250 finished 34.29 points behind at 12,040.01; the FTSE All-Share lost 6.88 points to 3,072.77; and the FTSE AIM Index climbed by 1.28 points to 713.55. 
Broker Notes Seymour Pierce upgraded its stance on JD Sports Fashion (JD.) from "hold" to "buy" with an increased target price of 1,000p, from 800p. The broker noted that the retailer is planning on launching a new store brand, JD Pro, focused on the specialist sports market. Seymour Pierce believes that this will allow the company to challenge rival Sports Direct's (SPD) dominance in the sector. The new store is expected to open in November and will cover 8,000 square feet. On the broker's forecasts, the shares trade on a prospective earnings multiple of 8.7 times for the 2013 financial year. The shares inched up by 7p to 776p.  Investec Securities downgraded its rating for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) from "hold" to "sell", with a 255p target price. While the broker approves of the bank's exit from the Asset Protection Scheme, which it had always believed was a waste of time and resources, it still expects the firm to report a pre-tax loss of 1 billion pounds for its third quarter. Investec added that the group is likely to incur future fines relating to the LIBOR scandal and dealings with Iran. The broker noted that the shares trade on a prospective tNAV multiple of 0.6 times and are at a 17 month high. Shares in RBS crept up by 0.8p to 281.8p. Shore Capital reiterated its "buy" recommendation for Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), encouraged by continued organic revenue growth in the insurance broker's third quarter. Shore also pointed to the group's growing presence in the emerging markets of Asia and Latin America and noted that these positive factors have been largely ignored by investors, due to the firm suffering from weaker than expected performances at its Re and Thistle divisions. The broker believes that the recent price weakness represents a good buying opportunity. The shares slipped by 3.5p to 745p. Blue-Chips BP (BP.) confirmed that it has reached a deal with Russian government owned oil company Rosneft over the sale of its 50% stake in the TNK-BP joint venture, which has caused the firm numerous headaches in recent months. The purchase will be satisfied through a mix of 17.1 billion dollars (10.7 billion pounds) in cash and the issue of shares representing 12.84% of Rosneft's enlarged share capital. BP noted that it will use 4.8 billion dollars (3.0 billion pounds) to acquire a further 5.66% stake in Rosneft as it looks to use its partnership to explore new oil prospects in the world's largest country. BP shares declined by 0.75p to 449.65p. 
Aerospace engineer Rolls Royce (RR.) has secured a contract to supply its MT7 gas turbine engines to the US Navy's future fleet of hovercraft, called the Ship-to-Shore Connector. Up to 73 of these craft are expected to be built over the next 20 years, replacing the current Landing Craft Air Cushion class, and will be used to deploy vehicles and infantry from military ships. The group noted that the deal follows on from the recent contract to supply its MT30 turbine for Freedom class Littoral Combat Ships. The shares rose by 2p to 870p. 
US military hovercraft Mid-Caps Shares in Fidessa (FDSA) dropped by 42p to 1,330p after the company warned that, as a result of continued weak trading conditions, revenues for the 2012 financial year are likely to remain flat on 2011's performance, with declining sales from its equity market operations counteracting growth in the derivatives market. The trading software developer added that higher investment in infrastructure, as well as the poor market will result in margins falling year-on-year. 
Senior (SNR) announced that it traded in-line with expectations during the period from 1st July to date and noted that it reduced its net debt to 68 million pounds as at 30th September, from 93 million pounds at the start of the year. The engineering firm said that demand from the large commercial aircraft market remained strong, while the regional and business jet market remained broadly stable. However, the firm did note some weakness in the European and North American large vehicle markets and that government budget cuts led to lower orders levels of Black Hawk helicopters. The shares gained 0.3p to 196.6p. Sausage casing manufacturer Devro (DVO) reported that, despite continued strong demand for its Select range, adverse foreign currency movements, as well as high raw material costs are likely to result in operating profits falling below current market forecasts. Meanwhile, the firm noted that it will invest 35 million pounds in increasing capacity in the current financial year, with plans for further investment in 2013. Devro shares tumbled by 16.2p to 319.8p. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Manganese Bronze (MNGS), manufacturer of the world famous London Taxi, announced that, despite discussions with a number of parties, it has failed to secure sufficient funding to continue as a going concern and will enter administration. The news follows on from the suspension of trading of its shares on 12th October as the company was forced to recall some 400 TX4 taxis, which were discovered to have faulty steering boxes. 
Manganese - broken down and off for scrap As a result of strong trading momentum in the first half of the year continuing into the second half, OMG (OMG) now expects to report full year results materially ahead of current market expectations. The motion capture technology developer attributed the performance to its 2d3 division, which secured its first license deal worth over 1 million dollars (0.62 million pounds). The group also noted that its Yotta division increased its client base from 1 to 16 in the last 12 months. OMG shares surged by 6p to 30.25p. Botswana Diamonds (BOD) reported that soil samples at its 249 square kilometre PL170/2012 licence in Botswana revealed concentrations of minerals such as garnets and ilmenites, which could indicate the presence of diamonds. The precious gem explorer said that the results identified five key areas of interest and that it will now begin a drilling campaign, the results of which are expected to be announced within six weeks. The shares jumped by 0.375p to 3.125p. Petroneft Resources (PTR) has successfully completed the development of its Arbuzovskoye well 102, in Russia, achieving an initial flow rate of 540 barrels of oil per day, increasing total production to 2,700 bopd. The hydrocarbons explorer noted that this is the highest ever flow rate achieved in the area, without using fracture stimulation. The group added that it has now begun drilling well 109 and expects to announce a number of additional wells in the next few months. The shares swelled by 0.875p to 6.875p. 
Low Carbon Accelerator (LCA) noted that the liquidation of its portfolio, first announced on 27th April 2012, is taking longer than originally expected. The renewable energy investment company had hoped to complete the sale and subsequent return of proceeds to investors by 30th November, but noted that discussions with several interested parties are still ongoing. The group added that the consideration of the sale was around its market capitalisation at the time of the announcement, 6.1 million pounds, but noted that there is no guarantee that this will be the final offer price, nor that an agreement will be reached at all. The shares plunged by 1.25p to 5.875p. In order to fund its debt reduction programme, Pure Wafer (PUR) announced plans to raise 4.49 million pounds through a placing of 114 million new ordinary shares and an open offer of 14 million shares at 3.5p each. The issue comes at a 27.8% discount to the closing price on Friday 19th October and would more than double the number of shares in issue. The solar cell technology company currently has 11.9 million dollars (7.4 million pounds) worth of borrowings, predominantly owed to the Royal Bank of Scotland. Pure Wafer shares collapsed by 1.125p to 2.875p. Talking of big share issues, PLUS-quoted Everest Energy (EELP) reported that it has agreed to buy US on-shore oil explorer Northcote Energy for 10 million dollars (6.2 million pounds). The acquisition will be satisfied through the issue of 645 million ordinary shares, which would equate to 86.2% of the enlarged share capital. The target has minority holdings in three projects, with attributable production of 29 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The group has hopes of rapidly increasing this rate through fracture stimulation as well as acquisition of further working interests. As the deal would constitute a reverse takeover, Everest's shares have been suspended. | 
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